In Other Words: I Love You
by Feyth
Summary: An A/U fic based on the Dragonball Super Z universe (A/U of DBSZ o.O). This is a short, romantic Goten and Marron fic dedicated to my friend Kinomi. Hope you like it. ^_^


**In Other Words: I Love You**  
by Marron  
  
  
The sun began its evening descent, painting the desert many beautiful shades of orange and red. The wind was docile, leaving a heavy, dry heat to spread across the scorched and lifeless dunes. On the edge of a flat, empty mesa, looking over a small oasis in the desert, a young woman sat, her blue eyes reflecting the sun. She sat, silently, watching the sun set into the distant horizon, glancing down occasionally to catch a glimpse of the rippled reflections in the small body of water far below. She sat, her feet dangling over the edge, wrapped in the long black skirt she wore. Her hair, still soaked with the tepid water from the oasis, hung loosely behind her, dripping water onto her dark red tank top, which immediately absorbed the moisture.  
  
A dozen or so meters behind the girl stood a young man with wild ebony hair and deep raven eyes. The sunset which played out before his eyes was beautiful, but it wasn't what he was looking at; to him, the girl sitting at the edge of the mesa was far more beautiful than any sunset could imagine itself to be. He studied the woman, indulging himself in the way she looked.   
  
_'Alone again.'_ She thought, moving to tuck her legs under herself.  
  
It was ironic that this was the word that kept her company during so much of her life. Not that she was unloved, and not that it wasn't her own fault for wandering off on her own, but she spent much of her time alone, watching. She liked to watch things: birds, clouds, people; it made no difference. She often felt as though she was standing outside of a tinted glass pane, looking in on the world, which did not see her.  
  
As she shifted, the young man held his breath--she had not sensed him yet, and knew that he would be embarrassed if she caught him watching her. When she didn't look back or say anything, he exhaled, then took a step forward.  
  
"Marron, I found your new hiding place!" He greeted her, happily.  
  
Marron turned to look over her shoulder at the ebony-haired demi-Saiya-jin which stood a few meters behind her on the dusty mesa. "Goten." She said with a small, almost invisible smile. He walked towards her and her eyes, a strange mix of her father's and her mother's in shape, studied him. "You're getting better at masking your ki. All that sparring you've been doing with Gokou-san has paid off."  
  
"Sankyuu." Goten grinned sheepishly as he sat down next to her. "Aa, you're all wet!"  
  
"Your powers of observation are astounding, Goten, really." Marron giggled despite herself. "I was swimming in the oasis down there just a little bit ago." She gestured to the small body of water which looked completely out of place amidst the tundra.  
  
"Yay, swimming hole!" Goten leapt into the air and jumped over the edge of the mesa, diving towards the oasis. As he plummeted, his shoes and clothes scattered behind him, until he was wearing nothing more than his boxers when he hit the water.  
  
"Baka." Marron murmured as she pushed herself off the edge of the mesa and floated down to the water's edge. She sat down on the soft sand, pulling her knees to her chest and turning her gaze back to the sunset.  
  
Goten splashed around for a few minutes before climbing out of the water and sitting down next to Marron again to catch a glimpse of the nearly faded sun. They sat together silently until the sky was dark and the stars shone brightly in the sky. Marron looked over at her best friend and felt a blush creep across her face when he turned to look back at her.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Goten asked. Marron shook her head vehemently and looked up at the stars. It had been two years since Goten, Bra, and she had been thrown into this world; Marron couldn't help but wonder when exactly she had fallen in love with her best friend, but she was too embarrassed to tell him how she felt. When she was fourteen, both Goten and his best friend, Trunks, had declared their feelings for her. She had loved them both, but in the end she had chosen Trunks over Goten.  
  
They were grown up now, she eighteen and him five years her senior, and though she had loved Trunks with all her heart--she still did--she felt that she had made the wrong choice. _'When you are a child, how do you tell the difference between being in love with someone and just loving them?'_  She scolded herself. It didn't matter. Trunks was gone and no doubt Goten had gotten past his affection for her years ago. Her eyes stung as she stared, unblinking, at the stars.  
  
"Marron...?" Goten asked her, knocking her out of her trance.  
  
"Oh, sorry." She apologized quickly, not moving her gaze--afraid to gaze at him. "I was just thinking."  
  
"About what?"  
  
This time, she lowered her gaze from the stars in the sky to the ones in Goten's eyes, and smiled gently. "I was wondering what the moon looked like before Piccolo-san destroyed it." She lied. "I was thinking about a song I heard Bulma-san singing."  
  
"Sing it for me." Goten asked of her, softly, causing her to blush again.  
  
"Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars..." The wind carried Marron's voice quite well; it was filled with a soft, sad tremble, as though her soul itself poured out with her beautiful singing voice. "Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars..."  
  
Goten stood up, looking down at Marron in silent awe. "You sing beautifully, Marron." He complimented her sincerely.  
  
"Thank you." She replied with a blush.  
  
  
"What's the next line in that pretty song you were singing?" Goten asked, innocently, holding his hand out to her as he floated into the air. "In other words, take my hand..?"  
  
Marron unfolded herself and stood. She floated towards him, the breeze tossing her hair, catching in her flowing skirt; she looked like a goddess in the soft light of the stars and Goten was suddenly quite aware of his mortality. He swallowed, his voice caught in his throat as she took his hand, placing her free hand on his shoulder. "Marron.." Goten barely managed to choke out.  
  
"Hmm, Goten?"   
  
Goten struggled to put into words everything he felt: how much he cared for her, how he had loved her since they were children, how beautiful he thought she was--inside and out. Finally, Goten spoke. "Guh." He stammered.  
  
Marron laughed. "'Guh'? Well, I'll take that as a compliment." She smiled up at him.  
  
They slow danced, silent for what seemed like an eternity to Goten. He could feel a blush creeping over his cheeks, and hoped Marron wouldn't notice the rapid beating of his heart as she rested her head against his chest. He pulled her closer, gently.  
  
"You've grown into a beautiful young woman. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever known." He said, almost absent-mindedly.  
  
"Th-thank you... Goten." Marron barely managed to get the words out; her face was so hot that she thought she would combust at any moment. _'Does he still have feelings for me?' _she thought wildly, her heart pounding in her chest._ 'Maybe I should tell him how I feel.' _Marron looked up at the young man. "Goten, I--"  
  
"Marron, do you ever miss him?" Goten asked, unintentionally interrupting Marron. "Our Trunks-kun, I mean. The one that died."  
  
Marron blinked, surprised, and pulled away from the demi-Saiya-jin, looking up with him with wide eyes. "What kind of question is that, Goten? Of course I do. Don't you?" She asked him. He nodded solemnly in response. "Hey.. I thought you didn't understand the difference between this world and that one!" Marron put a hand on her hip.  
  
Goten grinned guiltily. "Sometimes it's just easier to let people think I'm dumb." His expression softened. "Sometimes it's just easier to pretend that I don't understand. It's easier to act like things are the same instead of hurting."  
  
Marron could feel tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. She had spent a great deal of her life hurting, yet the thought that Goten had shared that pain opened up old wounds. She hugged him, suddenly.  
  
"Don't hurt, Goten. Be happy, like you always are." She pleaded. "Nobody can make me smile the way you can; nobody makes me happy like you do, and it's just because I know you're happy, too."  
  
Goten wrapped his arms around Marron, unable to bring himself to speak. He looked down at her, a serious expression replacing his usually cheerful one. "I... I'll never let anything bad happen to you. Ever." He promised her. "I'll do everything I can to make you happy. I lo.... lo... loooov...." He stammered, his serious expression fading as he began to blush.  
  
"I'm in love with you, Son Goten." Marron admitted quietly. Her words were sincere and shy, like those of a young school girl confessing that she had a crush on the star quarterback. What she felt was much more than a crush, however.  
  
Goten reached up, caressing the young woman's face before tilting her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "I will always be in love with you, Marron." He told her. "There's nothing else I need in this world but you." His stomach grumbled.  
  
"And a tuna melt." Marron added with a small smile. "Come on, let's get you something to eat."  
  
Goten shook his head. "Food can wait." He whispered, leaning down to kiss the woman he loved.  
  
  
The End.


End file.
